Steve Bruce has praised his young guns for restoring pride and shooting Blues to the top of the Championship table.

Blues will try to consolidate their position by beating Ipswich Town at St Andrew's tomorrow, where the manager has asked for his tyros be 'given a hand' by fans.

Bruce's plea to the faithful to 'start believing again' is not an attempt at fishing for pity, but a genuine request on behalf of his team, who have privately admitted to finding the atmosphere uncomfortable and inhibiting.

"Make no mistake, from day one in pre-season, we wanted to have a youthful element about us," said Bruce.